Pages

Sunday, January 4, 2015

A Chalkboard Family Calendar {Finally!}

There are days when our little farmstead can feel like Grand Central Station.

Now that our youngest has started Pre-K, three mornings a week,

there is even more to keep track of as far as the schedule goes.

(Moms out there, you know what I'm saying! Think volunteer days, class parties, field trips, performances, projects and sports... just to name a few! Times three.)

My husband was probably growing tired of my shocked (and perhaps offended) expression when he would remind me of one of his commitments on a certain evening. "But how am I supposed to get two boys to two different locations at the same time by myself?" I'd ask. "That's why I told you about this several weeks ago..." he'd explain. "You did?" And so the conversations would go...like groundhog day.

Organization is not one of my God-given gifts. I have to work at it.

So, I made this large chalkboard that now hangs in our

home's "command center" - AKA the mud/laundry room.

The calendar gives us a monthly overview of our family's activities. The beauty is that it requires my hubby and I to sync up at the beginning of the month, well before the day of an event. With planning, things seem so much more doable.

For the chalkboard, I used a $10 thrift store frame. At Home Depot, I had one of their pre-made chalkboards cut down to size. I used a ruler and regular chalk to draw the calendar lines and then painted over them so that they won't erase. For the dates and calendar entries, I used a fine point chalk marker (Bistro brand) that I purchased at Hobby Lobby.

The calendar has been up for approximately 12 hours and I feel so much more optimistic about the month. We can do this thing called January!

12 comments:

That's such a great idea! I like that everyone can see your calendar and not just you on your iphone or calendar book. i like how you made it easy to just fill in the days too. Everyone needs a "command central" somewhere in their house!

When my children were younger I figured out something similar, but not nearly as attractive. Now that my daughter has moved back home and my Dad lives with us, it has become useful again. One thing I did that I found helpful, is everyone has their own colour of ink. That way we know at a glance who has the dentist appt. etc. Very well done.*Smiles*

LOVE this idea. You did a great job. I have been searching and searching for a chalkboard calendar that is functional but attractive. I have a question. You write that you "painted" over the lines. What paint did you use? And this didn't keep you from being able to then write on the chalkboard?? Thanks for any information or details you can give.

I used a white craft paint for the calendar lines. If I had it to do it over again, I would just use my paint with primer interior paint (that I have on-hand for projects). The craft paint wasn't durable enough to withstand me wiping the chalkboard clean each month with a wet rag. So, I now sometimes trace over the calendar lines with chalk when I update the calendar monthly (since some of the craft paint has worn off). I hope this wasn't confusing. ;) Let me know if you have any other questions!!

Shop here!

I’m so glad you stopped by!

We recently moved to a farmhouse with some wide open spaces, just past the city limits. We count our blessings as our three sons run fast(!) and free in a country setting that we had dreamed of for years.

I enjoy home decorating and planning special gatherings for family and friends. Little by little we’re trying our hand at gardening, caring for animals and tackling projects around our little farmstead. What we lack in experience, we make up in heart.

adding pinterest script
3. Changing the Position of the Pin it! button
The cool thing about this code is that you have some freedom over where the Pinterest button for Blogger will go over the image. Take a look at the code that you just copied and pasted into the HTML for the word 'center'.